


A West Wing Proposal

by pumpkinpatch95



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Circa first season, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, everyone else knows they're in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27238048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpkinpatch95/pseuds/pumpkinpatch95
Summary: Donna has an immigration problem, and Josh comes up with an impulsive solution. Except what happens when they fake their relationship a little too well? Inspired by the movie "The Proposal." Not quite an AU as some key things are different and they're still very much in the West Wing world. Set sometime around season 1.
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 51
Kudos: 182





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I watched 'The Proposal' and got inspired - and a few people on Tumblr egged me on. So here it is! First of all, I know immigration rules are *very* complicated - it's a fun story and I have simplified things immensely, so please don't come at me! Also, in this world everyone is very chill with Josh and Donna getting together. Again, just roll with it haha.

Donna arrived in the office that morning with a coffee in each hand. A person might assume that one of the drinks was for Josh, but no – anyone who knows Josh and Donna knows that coffee is reserved for when Josh might be getting fired.

In fact, the coffee in her right hand was already consumed, with the one on her left hot and ready to go. When Josh told her last night he was going out with an old college buddy, she knew it was going to be one of those days. To be more specific, one of those days where he was approximately 53% functional, and Donna had to be on her game to make sure the country didn’t actually stop running or anything.

Thankfully, everyone was heading home for Thanksgiving tomorrow so it should be a pretty easy day.

She had only just sat down at her desk and gotten herself settled when Josh stumbled into the bullpen. He looked more put together than the Joey Lucas incident, thank goodness, but she was definitely going to have to fix that tie.

“Good morning, Josh,” she called, making it extra chipper just to annoy him. 

“Donna, you need to be at least 30 percent less peppy and you need to find a Republican I can blame this headache on.” Josh barely glanced at her as he walked into his office. 

She rolled her eyes and started going through her email, internally groaning when she saw one from the Immigration and Naturalization Services official she’d been dealing with to get her citizenship processed. As a Canadian originally before her parents moved to Wisconsin when she was 8, she was a legal resident but always felt American, and thought she should be a full citizen to work in the White House.

The final appointment to get all her documents squared away had been pushed off for months. There was a budget crisis, then an education bill was suddenly in jeopardy, you name it.

The email from the INS official seemed pretty much the same as the others – this is urgent, the matter must be resolved for you to remain in the country, blah blah blah. She kind of skimmed it, and then noticed Leo had been cc’d on the email and replied, telling her to meet him in his office shortly after senior staff.

She told herself not to panic – that Leo and Josh would handle any issues. She worked in the White House, with people who could pull the highest of strings. Going through the rest of the time sensitive emails, she glanced at the time and realized Josh needed to get going.

“Josh!!” she shouted. Hearing no response, she let herself into her boss’s office where Josh had his head on his desk, with his hands over his ears.

“Josh,” she said again, in a kinder tone this time. “You have senior staff in three minutes. If you go, I’ll grab you a Yoo-hoo from the mess when I run down there to get breakfast.”

That got him to lift his head up, and Donna took the opportunity to straighten his tie. His hair was a mess as well, and her hands instinctively rose to fix it before pausing. It just seemed too…intimate somehow. 

She covered herself by brushing off his shoulders and then pushing him towards the door. “I’m going, I’m going,” he grumbled.

About 20 minutes later, she knew they’d likely be wrapping up based on how many items were on the agenda today. She headed over, grabbing the Yoo-hoo she’d picked up so she could pass it to Josh and offset any grumpiness as soon as possible.

She waited outside the closed door until it opened, Toby and Sam still arguing about something as they left Leo’s office. CJ was furiously writing something down in preparation for her briefing. Josh took up the rear, casually strolling in that way that made her crazy.

“Here,” she said, handing the drink to him. “I have to meet with Leo for a second and then I’ll be back. Remember you have a meeting with Advance about the Sweden trip at 10.”

“Wait, what?” he replied. “Why do you need to meet with Leo?”

“It’s nothing,” she sighed. But one look at his face and Donna knew he wasn’t budging. “Fine, come on,” she said, leading him by the elbow back into Leo’s office.

He was reading through a file on his desk, and without looking up said, “Thanks for coming in, Donna, close the door, would you?”

She complied, and turned back around to face Leo, who then glanced up and noticed Josh was still in the office. Before he could say a word, she said, “It’s okay, Josh can stay.”

Leo sighed. “Very well then. Donna are you aware that you have missed several important deadlines regarding your immigration status?”

“Yes, I know,” she replied, “but every time we scheduled something, a crisis came up and I had to help Josh –”

“You can only help Josh if you’re allowed to stay in the country!” Leo interrupted. “And thanks to these delays, you’re not anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Donna asked softly.

“Your citizenship application has expired, and you’re going to have to start the process again. In addition to that, you didn’t apply to extend your green card because you had planned on having your citizenship pending by then. So, you’re not allowed to remain in the country past the end of the month.”

Donna felt sick. She couldn’t leave the White House, she just couldn’t. “Leo,” she pleaded, “Can’t you ask –”

“Donna this is the White House,” Leo said sternly. “You think we can have someone working here who is violating immigration law? Who we kept here by bribing some official?”

“Yeah, maybe not,” she acknowledged. Beginning to panic, she looked over at Josh, who looked like someone had punched him in the gut. But she could see the gears turning in his head, and then he said something that almost made Donna pass out.

“We’re getting married,” he burst out.

“What?” Donna and Leo asked in unison.

“Donna and I…we’re getting married. She and I. Me and her.” Suddenly Josh looked less confident, but he nodded to himself and walked over to Donna, placing a hand around her waist. It should have felt really strange and inappropriate but…it didn’t. 

“Is this true, Donna?” Leo said.

“Umm, yeah, yeah that’s right,” Donna heard herself say. “We tried to keep it professional but couldn’t deny what was between us.” Inside, she was screaming. What was she doing?? She had worked very hard not to even think of her feelings for Josh, whatever they might be. And now she was telling Leo they were getting married. And why had Josh even suggested it?

“Okay,” Leo said slowly. “I mean I’m not going to pretend we didn’t see this coming, but I had hoped we’d get a little more warning.” Wait…what? Seen this coming?

She shook her head – she didn’t even have time to think about all that. “Well, it’s happening now,” she said out loud. Meanwhile Josh had turned into some kind of statue. She elbowed him in the side.

“Yeah,” Josh said. “In fact, Donna is…um…she’s coming home with me to Connecticut for Thanksgiving tomorrow.”

She looked at him wide-eyed but didn’t contradict him. “Yes, we…wanted to be able to tell his family before the news broke,” she explained to Leo.

“Well I should think so,” he said. “Although I can’t imagine it’ll take the press too long to figure out. Donna, we’ll transfer you to be a general assistant in the Chief of Staff’s office so you don’t work directly under Josh anymore. I’ll get in contact with INS and let them know what’s going on. And for the love of God, let CJ know about all this.”

Donna nodded, and she and Josh turned to leave. As always, he put a hand at the small of her back to guide her out of the office and down the hallway, but this time Donna was mentally analyzing the move. Was it just because of what they told Leo?

By some unspoken agreement they went into his office and closed the door. “What was that?” she exclaimed.

“I panicked!” he responded. “You can’t leave and I know you can stay if you marry me so I just…solved the problem.”

“But-”

“Listen, Donna, it’s fine. We get married, act couple-y for the public, and then once the President is out of office, we get a divorce.” He looked down at the floor as he said that last part. “And then you can date whatever gomers you want. You’re too busy to date half the time these days anyway.”

Something in Donna’s chest clenched when he said the word ‘divorce.’ The suggestion felt wrong, in a way that marrying him somehow didn’t. “So, thanksgiving…” she asked.

“Yeah, I mean my mom will be thrilled to have you there. And we’re going to have to tell your family about the, uh, wedding anyway. So call them and tell them why you’re not coming home this year.”

“Okay,” she said. “Josh…”

“Donna, don’t,” he warned. “Don’t make that face. I can’t handle it when you do that thing with your eyes. It’s going to be fine. Now, go get yourself a train ticket to Connecticut along with mine. I gotta go talk to CJ.”

He traced the side of her arm with his hand, and it took all of Donna’s concentration not to focus on it. “All right,” she said.

She went back to her desk, and was just typing her information into Amtrak when she heard, “You and Donna are WHAT NOW??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I quickly realized this was going on way too long to be a one shot, but I'm not sure how many chapters it will be just yet. I know it technically should be Donna who says they're getting married, but I just couldn't shake that Josh would be the one to do it. And I didn't have the heart to make them hate each other like the movie!


	2. Chapter 2

“Donna, is this really necessary?” Josh whined.

They were on the train on the way to Connecticut, and Josh was being insufferable as always. All Donna had suggested was that they should have their story straight about their relationship before they arrived at his mom’s house. Josh had called to let her know Donna was coming and threw in a “By the way, we’re getting married,” before hanging up and rushing into a meeting. Donna wanted to kill him.

“But it’s not like we’re making up a whole new life,” Josh insisted. “It’s still just us, we still work together, we’re just…TOGETHER now.”

Donna rolled her eyes. “Yes, but mothers have questions. When did it happen, who made the first move, what did we do on our first date, when was our first…kiss.” She’s not sure why she stumbled over that last part. Just hard to talk about their hypothetical first kiss out loud for some reason.

“Okay, let’s get the basics down,” Josh acquiesced. “We knew there was something between us after the inauguration when we danced together all night, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off you in that blue dress.” 

Donna’s breath hitched a bit. He wasn’t that far from the truth. They had in fact danced with each other most of the night, and Donna had thought she caught him staring at her when she wasn’t looking but she chalked it up to her imagination. “And…” she prompted, afraid to say much more.

“And we tried to ignore it, like we told Leo,” he continued. “Just worked together for much of the next year. But something changed on…”

“Election night,” Donna filled in. She immediately hated herself for saying it – it had just slipped out. They had so much fun that night, hanging out and betting on the state races, making bets on who could guess the winner of the most random local race in the middle of nowhere.

“Yeah!” Josh agreed, and when he looked at her, Donna knew he was thinking of the same great memories. “We had a bit too much to drink, and while celebrating the Democrat that won the city council seat in the Missouri 7th, you went to hug me, and I acted on instinct and just laid one on ya.”

Donna shook her head at his word choice, but inside her heart was pounding. They had indeed celebrated the positive outcome of that race, but they definitely hadn’t kissed. How did that come to him so quickly?

“Yeah, th-that works,” she managed.

“I’m definitely not going to remember a whole invented story, so I thought I’d pick something that actually happened,” Josh said. “That’s all I got, though, so why don’t you figure out the other details they’ll ask and, you know, come up with something.”

With that, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. As much as he annoys her, Donna truly hoped he got some rest. The man barely sleeps, mostly only when she physically pushes him out of his office or at least makes him lie down on Toby’s couch with a blanket.

She leaned back in her seat and thought through the other questions Josh’s family is likely to ask. They had settled first move and first kiss. She figured they could say their first “date” was takeout in his office after a key bill passed. And maybe a real date would be a late drink at the Hawk and Dove – wait, no. She’d watched Josh date enough that she knew he would take her to a nice restaurant. And guide her into their table with his hand on her back like he always does…

Okay, she had to stop before this shifted into daydreaming. Shifting in her seat to get comfortable, she lay her head against the headrest. She’d fill him in on the backstory information she thought of later.

The next thing Donna knew, the train hit a slight bumpy patch and woke her up. She opened her eyes to find her head had made its way onto Josh’s shoulder. It wouldn’t have typically phased her too much – they had much the same sleeping arrangement on the campaign bus.

But now she was questioning everything, and quickly straightened up in her seat. Although, Josh’s family would probably expect them to be a bit cozy. Suddenly, she realized something they had overlooked. 

She glanced at Josh, who was still sleeping. But the digital screen above the train’s doorway told them they were almost at Penn Station, so he should probably wake up soonish anyway so he wasn’t groggy by the time they made it to Connecticut

She rubbed his shoulder gently, but he didn’t stir. She rubbed a bit harder – nothing. So finally, she jabbed her elbow into his side.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he said, jerking awake. 

“You need to know things about me,” she said without preamble.

“I need to what now? Donna I know you date a lot of Republicans, but don’t tell me they’ve taken away your ability to make sense.”

“You need to know information about me,” she pressed. “As your assistant as well as your friend, I know pretty much everything about you so I won’t have any problem with your family. But they’ll definitely ask you questions about me and it’ll be a red flag if you don’t answer. And this applies to the immigration people too.”

“Donna, come on,” he said. “You honestly think I don’t know everything there is to know about you?”

“Well…” she trailed off.

“You’re closer to your mother than your father, but he’s the one that supported you most when you drove to New Hampshire on a whim. Your favorite major in college was sociology, because you think it helps you understand people. You like to watch horror movies but only during the day. You spend at least a week studying the real history of any historical drama you watch. You complain about your roommate’s cats, but you like that they’re always around to greet you when you come home at weird hours.”

“Okay that last one you only know because you show up at my apartment in the middle of the night and you also like the cats,” she pointed out.

“They’re good listeners,” Josh shrugged. Once again, Donna was floored. He really does listen when she talks, no matter how much he may act to the contrary.

“You know, I meant more like what my parents do for work,” she said, trying to chide him like usual. When he opens his mouth, she said “And no cheese jokes – I doubt your family finds them any funnier than I do.”

“All right, but seriously Donna,” Josh said, really making eye contact this time. “I’ve spent more time with you than almost anyone else in the last year and a half, I think we know just about everything.”

“Okay,” she said quietly, softly smiling. They sat in companionable silence for the next several minutes, until Donna remembered a fun fact about the origins of the Acela. Then they were off, bantering for the remainder of the train ride, not missing a beat as they gathered their stuff, walked out onto the platform and made their way into New Haven Union Station.

“Come on, the car should be waiting for us outside,” Josh said, leading them through the doors and out to the pick-up/drop-off area where there was indeed a Range Rover right at the station’s entrance. Josh seemed to recognize the driver and opened the backseat door, motioning for Donna to get in.

He hopped in the passenger seat and said “Hey, Zack,” giving the driver a clap on the shoulder. The other man smiled and nodded at Josh before putting the car in drive and pulling out onto the street. He glanced at Donna in the rearview mirror and said, “So you must be the lady friend of Josh’s we keep hearing so much about.”

“Hi, yeah I’m Donna,” she replied. “Josh you have a chauffeur??”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Josh replied. “Zack has a car service, and we use him when we need rides to and from the airport or train station or whatever. I told you I had transportation to my mom’s covered.”

“Yeah, I thought you meant a cousin is picking you up or something,” she said. Sometimes, Donna really did forget the kind of life Josh lived in Connecticut. 

Still, Zack seemed like more of a family friend than anything to Josh, and the 40-minute drive to Westport flew by as the three of them chatted.

Eventually they pulled up to Josh’s house, which was definitely fancy but more reasonable than the actual mansion Donna had conjured up in her head. No sooner had they gotten out of the car than Josh’s mother ran out in an apron, making a beeline for…Donna.

“Donna!!” she cheered, wrapping her up in a big hug. “I knew my idiot son would get his act together one of these days and make an honest woman out of you.”

Donna didn’t even know how to process that – she just hugged her back and said, “It’s really nice to see you again, Mrs. Lyman.”

“Now how many times do I have to ask you to call me Rachel?” the older woman asked. “Joshua, do you think my future daughter in law should be referring to me like one of the old biddies at temple?”

“Hello to you too, Mom,” Josh said instead. He gave her a hug and started to lead her back into the house when he suddenly paused, grabbing Donna’s luggage and his own from where Zack had placed it next to the car. “I got this…honey,” he said, cringing a little at the last word. After all, it’s not like it wasn’t going to be awkward.

Donna raised her eyebrows a bit at the chivalry, knowing she’s usually the one to drag their bags into whatever hotel they’re staying at on their various trips. She wonders why he didn’t say goodbye to Zack, but then Rachel said “Zachary, turn that car off and come inside. I made brisket.”

“Yes, ma’am” Zack replied, and Donna saw Josh smile. He must have known Zack wasn’t getting away that easily.

They made their way up the drive and into the house, and Rachel said, “Josh, put the bags in your room. It’s all made up for the two of you. I’ll give Donna the tour and hear all about how you proposed!”

That’s right – she’s supposed to have a proposal story. And an engagement ring, now that she thinks about it. Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented such nice things about the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this. I actually am from Connecticut, so it was funny to have Josh and Donna be in the New Haven station. Can't quite promise when I'll have the next chapter as I'm a journalist in the U.S. and the election is...now. If you can vote and haven't done so already, please do!! Let this chapter keep you company in line. Remember, as long as you're in line by the time polls close they have to let you vote! P.S. I stole Donna's wake up method from a scene in the Newsroom. Another great Sorkin show!


	3. Chapter 3

“That meal was delicious, Mrs. Ly-I mean Rachel,” Donna said, correcting herself. She was seated across the table from Josh, with his mom at one end. Zack had eaten quickly and politely excused himself. And Donna wasn’t just being nice – the food was incredible.

“Thank you, dear,” Rachel replied, giving her a smile. She had shown Donna around the whole house, which was about five times nicer than where Donna grew up, but it still managed to feel homey. Noah Lyman’s office was even perfectly preserved, complete with a Mets cap on top of the computer tower.

Donna had taken an active interest in the tour, asking questions when she could to keep Rachel occupied and not ask her any more details about the proposal. Then Rachel got distracted with getting dinner served, and now they’ve just been chatting and enjoying the meal so maybe she will get away with it for a while longer until - 

“So, Josh, you still haven’t told me how you asked!!” Shit.

“Asked what?” Josh responded cluelessly, stuffing his face with brisket.

“How you asked Donna to marry you of course!” Rachel said, reaching over and smacking his shoulder.

Josh looked at Donna with a panicked expression on his face, which was probably mirrored on her own. Although, her poker face was at least marginally better than her boss’s. 

“It, uh, happened pretty suddenly,” Josh began slowly. “I mean I had been thinking about asking her but was waiting for the right time. And then…” His voice trailed off, until suddenly it looked like a lightbulb had gone off in his head.

“There was some…training at the White House about the proper protocols if there’s an emergency. You know, how to evacuate, where to go, stuff like that.” Donna knew he was talking about the NSC card he gave back, and she also knew why he didn’t want his mom to know the details about all that.

“Anyway, Donna and I had different…instructions,” Josh said, “And it made me realize that if the world was coming to an end, I wanted Donna by my side. I couldn’t bear the thought of being without her at a time like that. Honestly, I wanted her by my side for all the good stuff too. Forever.”

At some point Josh’s voice had lost any hesitation, and he was now looking straight into Donna’s eyes. She had worked with him long enough to know when he was spouting BS, and this wasn’t that. This was sincere, and Donna thought she might actually explode.

“So I knew I had to ask her soon. I didn’t have time to really plan, or really arrange the ring,” Josh continued. Oh good, they had an excuse for that now. “The president made chili for everyone that night because his daughter was in town, so we were all hanging out pretty late. Afterwards I drove Donna home because the Metro isn’t safe at that time of night –”

“It’s perfectly safe,” Donna interrupted.

“It is NOT SAFE,” Josh repeated with that Bartlet Bulldog look in his eye. “I drove her home and came inside for a drink. I told her about what happened that day and asked her to marry me. The End.” Suddenly Josh looked pretty uncomfortable, as if what he had said had only just caught up to him.

Donna averted her eyes from his and stared down at her plate, a little knot in her stomach starting to form as she began to feel really bad about lying to Josh’s mom. Not to mention what this was doing to the part of her that harbored not-work-appropriate feelings for Josh. The part of her she locked inside a deep dark closet in her brain.

“Well that sounds lovely,” Rachel said. “And as for a ring, I think I know how we might be able to fix that.” She gave a knowing smile to Josh, who looked at her startled, clearly knowing what she was referring to. 

“Yeah Mom we can, ah, talk about that later,” he mumbled.

“Good call, let’s not ruin the surprise,” Rachel said, and Donna was officially nervous. What did Rachel have in mind for a ring, and why does Josh seem so flustered by it?

“Why don’t I help you clean up,” Donna said, jumping up and grabbing plates, eager to get away from this situation.

“No, no, you’re a guest,” Rachel insisted. “Go sit in the living room and relax, I’ll take care of this.” 

With that last part she fixed Josh with a stare, who said “I’ll help you, Mom.”

“Good son,” Rachel smiled and patted Josh on the back. They went into the kitchen while Donna made her way into the living room. She settled herself in the corner of the couch and looked around the room.

She’d known Josh for a few years now but she was still learning about him, so she was fascinated by any details she could pick up from the picture frames and other small details. The baseball pictures weren’t a surprise, nor were graduation shots from Harvard and Yale. But one framed picture on the mantle caught her eye. It was Josh and his parents on some beach vacation, splashing around where the waves crashed on the shore. He looked to be about 4 or 5. But there was a young girl with them, who looked a few years older than Josh. He’d never mentioned a sibling or particularly close cousin.

Lost and thought, she didn’t notice Josh come into the room until he plopped down next to her, placing a beer on the coffee table. “My mom kicked me out of the kitchen, apparently there is a wrong way to load a dishwasher. Whatcha doing?”

“Just looking around,” she said casually. Whoever that girl was in the photo, she wasn’t quite ready to ask Josh about it. “You wanna watch some TV?”

“Yeah, sure, although I have absolutely no idea what’s on these days,” he said. Donna flipped around until she found one of those detective shows that has a new plot every episode so they weren’t confused. They settled in, trying to guess who the murderer was and groaning when a character missed a particularly obvious hint. By unspoken agreement they traded sips of the beer as they always did – can’t upset Josh’s sensitive system after all.

“You kids are just so cute,” Rachel gushed as she entered the room with a bowl of popcorn. Donna looked down and realized her legs were draped over Josh’s lap, with his arm laid across the couch cushion just above her shoulders.

She instinctively started to untangle herself before realizing they were actually supposed to be acting like a couple now. This wasn’t Washington where they had to make sure they looked professional enough when other people were around. So, she stayed where she was and actually snuggled a bit closer into Josh’s side. He tensed a bit at that, and she hoped she wasn’t making him uncomfortable. But hey, this was his crazy idea.

The three of them talked and watched TV for a while until Rachel yawned and said she was going to bed. Josh and Donna stood up too, and slowly made their way to Josh’s room like they were trying to delay what was coming.

For the most part, his room had been converted into a guest room, but there were still some trinkets on the shelves and a Tom Seaver poster on the wall that betrayed its previous owner. Josh and Donna stood at the foot of the bed, staring at it like it might suddenly fix their problem.

“You should take the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor,” Josh said finally.

“No, Josh, you don’t have to –”

“No, it’s really fine. You’re the guest, and anyway I’m used to sleeping at my desk and other uncomfortable places, this is nothing.”

“If you’re sure,” Donna said, hesitation still in her voice. She grabbed her pajamas and toiletries and headed into the adjoining bathroom to get ready for bed. When she came out, Josh was in an undershirt and sweatpants, and he took his turn in the bathroom while she laid out a few blankets on the floor that had been placed at the foot of the bed, as well as an extra pillow.

By the time Josh came back, Donna was already snuggled in the comfortable mattress. They said goodnight awkwardly, and Josh lay down in the makeshift bed. Immediately, he started squirming and moving around his blankets, and Donna knew he must be hot.

“You can just wear your boxers if you want,” she told him. “I know you don’t normally sleep in pants.”

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but, thanks,” he said, shimmying out of the pants and lying back down. But the squirming didn’t stop and she heard Josh mutter “We really should have a rug in here at least. Or even a couch or something, I mean what if we had multiple guests that needed somewhere to sleep, we’re going to make them sleep on the hardwood? I just-”

“Oh for God’s sake, Josh, do you just want to sleep in the bed with me?” The second the words came out of her mouth, she could sense Josh freeze, and her own eyes got wider like even she couldn’t believe she said it.

“It’s a queen size so it’s plenty big enough and if I get no sleep because of your whining I’ll schedule you for a meeting with every freshman Republican in the House,” she warned.

“I wasn’t whining,” Josh mumbled, but he stood up and walked to the left side of the bed, slipping under the covers without another word.

Donna inched herself over so she was right on the edge of the bed, putting as much space between her and Josh as possible. She naturally rolled onto her side, which meant she was facing away from him, and a glance over her shoulder told her he had done the same. 

But even with a very respectable distance between them, they were still in the same bed, and despite what she just told Josh, this definitely wasn’t going to help her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thank you everyone for your lovely comments! It really makes me so happy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter - I reference 1x05 because I think Josh's conversation with Sam about Cathy tells you how much he freaked out about Donna not being with him if something happened. Otherwise, I'm sorry but there will be no further attempts to fit this into a timeline haha. And I don't know when Donna found out about Joanie, but given that Amy didn't seem to know the details, it seems likely Donna didn't find out until a little later in the administration. Also, Tom Seaver is a Mets player from the 70s, I had to google it.


	4. Chapter 4

Donna woke up smiling after the best night of sleep she’d had in some time. After all, it’s been a while since she could sleep without worrying her boss would call and summon her to the White House at an ungodly hour. This time, said boss was here with her – in her bed. It was then that Donna registered a weight on her side – and something pressed against her back.

Her eyes popped open and she found she’d migrated towards the middle of the mattress. Glancing down, she saw Josh’s arm sprawled against her midsection and realized the “something” pressed against her back was him. Oh my god – they were spooning.

Donna froze, not knowing what to do. She didn’t want to move and wake him up, but he would probably find it weird if he *did* wake up and find them like this. As she was contemplating her options, she felt Josh begin to stir. His arm pulled her a little tighter against him, and that’s when she felt she the part of him pressed against her lower back get…harder.

“Morning, Josh” she squeaked, still too afraid to move. He immediately moved away from her and sat up.

“Morning, Donna,” he muttered. “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to, um, crowd you like that.”

“It’s ok,” she responded. “Do you want to use the bathroom first?”

“No, y-you go ahead,” Josh said way too quickly. “I’m just gonna…sit here for a bit and check my phone.”

“Right,” she smirked, then realized that was a mistake when Josh’s eyes flashed with panic and he glanced down. Donna turned and bolted out of the room – this just crossed onto another level.

Once they were both ready for the day, they headed downstairs, as Rachel was taking some delicious smelling cinnamon rolls out of the oven.

“Good morning, you two!” she said cheerfully. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Mom,” Josh said, joining her on the other side of the counter to give her a kiss on the cheek. Clearly he had an ulterior motive, however, as he immediately reached for a steaming roll.

“Joshua!” she chastened, slapping his hand away. “You will burn your hand off if you touch them now, and besides I haven’t even put the icing on. Donna, dear, please tell me he has better sense when he’s at work.”

“Only occasionally,” Donna says with a grin. “Usually only if I’ve pre-laid out all the sense.”  
“Well you,” Josh responded with an indignant tone. “You…nothing, I got nothing,” he finished, sounding much more defeated.

“Good,” Donna said, giving him a wink. He laughed softly as she panicked slightly. Winking? Did she wink at him now? More importantly, why was she stressing over this stuff all of a sudden? It’s not as if their banter at the office could be considered work appropriate by any means – particularly Josh’s comments. Come to think of it, if a different boss said the things Josh said, she’d probably smack them in the face. But she honestly doesn’t mind with Josh.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and noticed Josh and Rachel had moved over to the kitchen table. Rachel was putting the plate of cinnamon rolls – now perfectly iced – on the table as Josh put out small plates for each of them.

“There’s a full pot of coffee on the counter, Donna, please help yourself,” Rachel said. “Mugs are in the cabinet right above it.”

Donna walked over and grabbed herself a mug with the Yale seal on it. “Hey Donna,” Josh called. “Can you-”

“You can get your own dang coffee Josh,” she responded without even looking over at him. “You’re not getting fired today.”

“What did she say?” Rachel asked her son.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Josh said with a chuckle.

Still, Donna figured she could at least grab him a mug. She opened the cabinet back up and selected a Mets one. Taking it out revealed another mug which had been pushed to the back of the shelf. It looked hand painted, like from one of those kids’ ceramics places. Bright colors were splashed all over it, and “Joanie” was written in purple paint along the side. Is this the girl from the picture?

“Donna, what are you doing?” Josh asked, startling her. “The food’s gonna get cold.”

“I’m coming, keep your pants on,” she said reflexively, closing the cabinet door quickly and putting the Mets mug down next to the coffee machine before rushing over to the table.

They ate their breakfast in relative silence. Josh read the paper – occasionally mentioning something notable to Donna, who gave her two cents. 

“So, what’s next?” Josh asked, after they had cleaned up.

“Well I was going to watch some of the parade,” Rachel said. “But I know that’s probably boring-”  
“No, I love the parade!” Donna interjected. “I always watch it with my family – and it has a fascinating history. Did you know for the first few years, they used real animals from the Central Park Zoo?”

Josh rolled his eyes, but Donna could tell he found it interesting. And so they settled in the living room and watched, each falling into their natural roles. Donna provided the fun facts, Josh made fun of nearly everything, and Rachel pointed out how cold the Rockettes must have been in their skimpy outfits.

“Hey Donna,” Rachel said at one point. “Do you know why Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on a different day?”

“Why would I-” Donna started, before a glare from Josh made her remember. “Umm, no we…we moved when I was young so I don’t remember a lot about Canadian traditions,” she covered.

“Oh, all right then,” Rachel said. “I have to go baste the turkey. You kids stay here and relax.”

They continued watching the parade for a moment before Donna couldn’t take it anymore – she had to ask. There was only so long she could stay interested in inflated balloons with something so pressing on her mind.

“Hey Josh…” she began cautiously. “Who’s Joanie?”

At some point while watching the parade they had gravitated closer together on the couch until Donna’s head was laying against his arm, with his arm around her shoulders. But with those four words he immediately stiffened and sat straight up. Suddenly Donna felt horrible.

“I’m sorry, that was rude,” she said in a rush. “You don’t have to tell me. I just saw a mug with that name on it, and I thought it might be the girl who’s in that picture over there and I just –”

“Donna, stop, it’s okay,” Josh interrupted. “Joanie is – was – my sister.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” she said softly.

“Yeah, she was three years older than me. She was the best, you know. A lot of older sisters would want nothing to do with her little brother but she wasn’t like that at all. She never minded playing with me, and she’d come up with all these fun games. And she was super smart too – she loved history and was always telling me these random facts. Not unlike someone else I know.”

Josh looked over at Donna, who gave a wide grin. She could tell he was enjoying talking about Joanie, and it felt like a huge compliment to be compared to someone he loved so much.

Josh didn’t say anything more for a few beats, and Donna knew what he was leading up to. She didn’t want to rush him or pressure him into sharing information he wasn’t ready for, so she let him take his time. 

Eventually with a deep breath, he opened his mouth and continued. “When I was 11 and Joanie was 14, our parents went out one night to some fancy dinner for my dad’s work. Joanie had babysat me plenty of times before, but this was the first time they were letting her be responsible for putting me to bed and everything. And she was a great babysitter – we had a lot of fun, but she was very responsible. She followed my parents’ instructions to the letter, and marched me up to bed at the exact time they had written down. We were in my room when the smoke alarm went off.”

Josh paused, gathering himself, and without even thinking Donna began stroking his arm softly with her thumb. “You know, Josh, you don’t have to –”

“No, really, it’s okay,” he said. “We ran downstairs and the whole kitchen was on fire. She had made us mac and cheese earlier - the firefighters later told us there had been something faulty in the wiring and the stove had never really turned off. It wasn’t her fault. Anyway, Joanie knew there was a fire extinguisher in the pantry but didn’t know if she’d be able to get to it. She told me to run outside. I said I’d only go if she came with me, and she said okay. She said she’d be right behind me!” 

Now Josh had tears in his eyes and his voice had gotten thick. “But when I got outside and looked back, she wasn’t there. I kept yelling her name. I guess that plus the fire alerted the next-door neighbor, Mrs. Wilson, who came running over to me. I just kept yelling Joanie’s name, and at one point I went to run back in the house but Mrs. Wilson grabbed me and held me as I kept screaming. Eventually the fire trucks came – I guess Mr. Wilson had called while his wife ran over. They put the fire out, and they were actually able to save most of the house. My parents arrived just as a firefighter was carrying Joanie’s body outside. They had found her right outside the pantry door.”

“Oh, Josh,” Donna said, rubbing his back with one hand as the other cupped his face and turned it to face hers. She looked straight in his eyes as she said, “I am so, so sorry. She sounds like the most amazing person, and I know she’d be so proud of you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Josh murmured, his eyes cast downward. That was when Donna realized another thing he needed to hear.

“Hey, Josh, look at me,” she said softly but firmly, waiting until his eyes met hers once again. “This was not your fault; do you hear me?”

Josh opened his mouth but then closed it again and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know,” he said, but it sounded like it might be the first time he really meant that.

Their faces were only a few inches apart at this point, and Donna could have sworn she saw Josh’s eyes flicker down to her lips. But then she remembered why they were here, and what lead to this conversation. They were pretending to be a couple but they weren’t – it was all an act.

Donna pulled away and stood up from the couch, despite every bone in her body protesting the action. “Thank you for telling me, Josh, I mean it. I’m going to go see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen.”

She walked away, trying to steady her breathing, and trying to convince herself that everything was completely fine. But it felt like something had shifted, and she was starting to wonder how they’d go back to normal after all this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a rough one! I hope you think I did it justice. We have so few details about Joanie and what happened, but I hope this aligns with the backstory the showrunners had in mind. It seems like a story that Josh wouldn't tell everyone right away, so I thought it made sense that Donna would find out sometime in the first few years of the administration. Also, I understand this has become slightly less of a Proposal AU and more like a Thanksgiving story - bear with me! Next chapter - Donna gets a visit from an INS agent and things get a little too real...


	5. Chapter 5

Donna wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Josh be quiet for this long. Of course, it might have something to do with the obscene amount of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes he was currently shoving in his face. 

“Okay this is just gross,” she told him. He opened his mouth to answer, but one glare from Donna caused him to close it again, and properly chew and swallow his food before speaking.

“I am enjoying my mother’s wonderful cooking,” he defended himself. “Are you saying you did not like the Thanksgiving Dinner she wonderfully prepared?”

That earned him what had to be the fifth smack on the head from his mother since they arrived. “Donna has enjoyed it plenty,” Rachel said. “She even enjoyed seconds. You, my dear, are enjoying such a generous helping of thirds that I’m not sure there will be enough leftovers for you to take back.”

“Nice try,” Josh said, resuming eating albeit at a more reasonable pace. “You’re a Jewish mother, you’re incapable of not making enough food for 20.”

“It was very delicious Rachel,” Donna said. “Thanks for letting me make a second pie.”

“Oh no problem! I want you to have at least some of your own family’s traditions, and I’m so eager to try your grandmother’s famous apple pie,” Rachel responded.

“Plus it means I get to eat that *and* the pumpkin one my mom made,” Josh piped up.

“You get to eat a slice of one tonight and the other tomorrow,” Donna said so casually Rachel widened her eyes in surprise.

“But Donnaaaaa,” Josh whined.

“Nope, you’ve already eaten a mountain of food today and you were told to watch your cholesterol at the doctors’ last month. I’m not having you keel over on me because of pie.”

“I’ll never leave you Donna,” he said in a teasing manner, but then gave her a smile so genuine and warm that she felt her heart tighten.

There was silence for a few moments as they just looked at each other, before Rachel pushed her chair back and started to gather plates, breaking the silence.

“Okay then,” she said slightly awkwardly. “Let’s clean up and then we can all have our allotted amounts of pie,” she winked at Donna, “while we watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”

“Is that a tradition then?” Donna asked.

“Oh yeah, it was Joanie’s favorite,” Josh responded, and Donna rubbed his arm quickly as she moved past him into the kitchen. She could tell it meant a lot to him to be able to talk about his sister like that. She had the sense he hadn’t done it for a very long time.

******

Later that evening, after pie had been eaten and Charlie Brown had been watched, Rachel announced she was headed for bed.

“All right Joshua, you know the deal,” she said, walking over to him.

“Yes, Mom,” he responded with a smile, standing up from the couch where he and Donna had somehow ended up intertwined again. “Yet another Lyman holiday tradition,” he explained to his assistant. “Mom is very insistent on her Thanksgiving goodnight kiss – both cheeks – and then she… pinchesmine.” 

He said that last part in a rush under his breath before giving his mother her obligatory kiss. “And then,” Rachel clarified, “I get to pinch his!” True to her word, she took both his cheeks in her fingers and squeezed. Josh looked like he maybe would like to die.

“All right, now that that’s over with,” he said, starting to walk away from his mother until she grabbed his arm and turned him back around to face Donna.

“Not so fast mister,” Rachel said. “You don’t think your fiancé deserves a kiss??”

“Oh,” Josh said, startled. “Of-of course. Happy Thanksgiving Donna.” He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He’d done it before, but it still made fireworks go off inside.

“You think that’s a kiss?” Rachel scolded. “If Donna doesn’t smack you, I’ll do it myself. Give the girl a real kiss!”

Josh seemed to freeze for a second, before grabbing Donna’s hands and pulling her to standing. “All right then…” he said slowly. He leaned towards Donna, who felt like she was about to implode. Was this really going to happen? I mean it makes sense that they would have to kiss at some point to keep up the ruse, but it didn’t mean she was ready for it and what if he got all awkward after this, and see this is why she didn’t want to do this in the first place because –

Her inner monologue was cut off when his lips finally met hers. She could tell he was trying to keep it quick and chaste, but as he started to pull away Donna felt her own lips respond of their own accord. After that, all bets were off. The kiss deepened, and Josh put his hands on Donna’s hips to pull her closer. She wound her hands around his neck and wondered what exactly she had been doing with her various boyfriends all this time. Because none of those supposed “kisses” were in the same universe as what Josh was doing to her now. How he was making her feel. Donna felt like she could kiss Josh for all of eternity, and the only reason she’d want to stop would be to take his clothes off and explore the body he kept hidden under too big suits.

Eventually Josh pried his lips away so they could breathe, and Donna honest to God had to keep herself from whimpering. He gave her one final kiss on the cheek, right near the corner of her jaw, and probably would have continued down her neck if Donna hadn’t stepped back. The replenishment of oxygen to her brain made her realize they were still standing in front of his mother.

Feeling completely mortified, Donna risked a glance at Rachel, who was beaming. “Now that’s more like it!” she exclaimed. “I knew it from the first time I saw you together – you two have more chemistry than a science lab. Good night, you lovebirds, see you tomorrow.”

With that, she scurried off upstairs, leaving Josh and Donna to stare at each other, both afraid to move or even breathe.

Josh cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, I’m sorry about that. You know how my mom can be, she wouldn’t believe it unless –”

“It’s fine, Josh,” she interrupted. “After all, it was bound to happen sometime.” She walked towards the stairs, leaving Josh standing in the living room and wondering why it felt like there was a crack in her heart.

****  
The next morning, Donna woke up to find they were once again curled up together. Last night had been so awkward, them climbing into bed silently and lying as far apart as they possibly could. It felt nice to be in his arms again, and she started daydreaming about that amazing kiss last night.   
But when she felt him begin to stir, she carefully slid out of his grasp until she was a reasonable distance away. Unwilling to face him awake quite yet, she turned on her side facing away from him.

She heard Josh groan slightly as he stretched, and her whole body tensed when his fingertips ghosted across her shoulder before being yanked back. She took a deep breath and turned onto her other side, looking him in his gorgeous eyes. “Good morning,” she said.

“Morning,” he responded with a small smile. “You sleep okay?”

“Yeah, I did,” she said, and then her eyes flickered down to his lips. She immediately yanked them back up, but she could tell Josh had already noticed. He followed suit, glancing at her lips for just a millisecond before meeting her eyes once more. He started to bend his head towards hers, so slowly she thought she might be imagining it, but a knock at the door caused them to yank apart from each other like magnets.

“Good morning!” Rachel called. “Sorry to disturb you but there are pancakes downstairs. And Josh when you’re ready, I need you to drive me to pick up that end table I bought at the antique store. I’ll never get it into the car myself.”

“Sure, Mom, we’ll be right down.” Josh replied, before getting up and gathering his clothes to bring into the bathroom. Well, guess that moment’s over, Donna thought.

****

Later that morning, Donna was curled up on the couch reading a book she had grabbed from one of the shelves in Noah Lyman’s office. She didn’t want to snoop so she didn’t linger, but when she had been taken on a tour of the house, she had noticed the large bookshelf that went right up to the ceiling. After a quick scan, she had selected a biography on Alexander Hamilton.

Now she was engrossed in the text, filing away information in her brain about the country’s first political sex scandal so she could pepper Josh with fun facts later. No matter how much he rolled his eyes, she knew he secretly loved it. She was just getting to the part where Maria Reynolds’ husband extorted Hamilton for money when the doorbell rang.

She briefly hesitated – was it right to answer the doorbell when it wasn’t her house? But she was the only one home and it could be some important delivery, so she padded across the room to the foyer and swung open the door. Standing on the other side was a serious looking man in a suit. Was there something wrong at the White House? But surely Josh would have been paged if that was the case…

“Hi, can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, are you Donna Moss?” the man replied.  
“Yes…” Donna said cautiously. How did this man know her when this wasn’t her house?

“My name is Tom Gilbertson, I’m with Immigration and Naturalization Services. I’d like to talk to you about your case.”

“Oh, yes, come in, sir.” Now Donna was really nervous. She had made an appointment with INS after the holiday to square everything away now that she was “marrying” Josh. Why did he need to come all the way down here?

She led him into the sitting room and offered him a glass of water, which he accepted. Once they were settled, she asked “So what is this about? I thought I had an appointment on the 29th.”

“Yes, you do. However…” Mr. Gilbertson paused to open his briefcase and take out a file folder. “It has come to our attention that your claim could be fraudulent, and we try to nip those in the bud, particularly when the petitioner travels out of town right after reporting a pending marriage.”

“The travel was just a coincidence because of the holiday. After all it’s-it’s our first Thanksgiving as an engaged couple, we wanted to spend it with family.” Donna was beginning to sweat. This really was a crazy idea, why did Josh suggest this? And why did she go along with it??

“Yes,” the man frowned, looking at this paperwork. “So let’s nail down some of the details. You started working for Mr. Lyman as an assistant during the presidential campaign?”

“Yes.”

“And kept working for him as his assistant when he became Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bartlet?”

“Yes.”

“So you are Mr. Lyman’s subordinate.”

“Yes, I mean, I was,” Donna stumbled. “We have now disclosed my relationship and I am being transferred so that I report to Leo McGarry.”

“But when your relationship began, he was your boss?”

“Well..yes.”

“And no one was told about this relationship until you informed Mr. McGarry on,” he flipped through some papers, “this past Tuesday?”

“That’s right,” Donna answered. “We wanted to give ourselves the chance to figure things out for ourselves and make sure things were real before going public and causing any difficulties for the administration in terms of the press.”

“But you didn’t tell…anyone?” Mr. Gilbertson asked, his brow furrowing. “Not your mother, or a roommate or best friend…no one?”

“We..we didn’t want anyone to have to keep a secret,” Donna said, trying to keep her voice sounding confident.

“But clearly things did become serious between you two – serious enough to get engaged. But not enough for a ring?” He glanced at her empty hand.

“Well we knew I wouldn’t be able to wear it very often, since we were keeping it to ourselves. But now that it’s out, we have plans to shop for one together,” she said.

“Hmm. And where is Mr. Lyman now?”

“He and his mother went to an antique store to pick up some furniture she ordered.” Actually, Donna realized they were due home pretty soon. She really hoped this guy would leave before that – she didn’t want to subject Rachel to any of this, or Josh for that matter.

“Are you…close with his mother?”

“Yes, I mean obviously we’ve bonded more on this trip now that I’m marrying her son but we’ve always had a good relationship. In fact, at one point during the campaign when Josh really wasn’t taking care of himself, I would email Rachel every time had a donut and she would call and yell at him.” Donna chuckled at the memory. It drove Josh crazy and was the highlight of Donna’s day.

“I see…” The official looked slightly more conflicted now. “You understand, Miss Moss, that being found to have committed immigration fraud would result in not only permanent deportation for you, but also a $250,000 fine for Mr. Lyman, as well as five years in prison.”

Donna forced herself not to move a muscle, even though her entire body wanted to shake. “Of course,” she said, her voice even. “I know that would be very serious, and I hope you know that as members of the Administration we would never commit such an egregious act.”

“Very well,” Mr. Gilbertson said, standing up. “Here is my card. The agency sent me because I’m in Hartford for business through tomorrow. We like to encourage people to come clean before too much damage is done, so if you give me call before I leave and let me know you were lying, there will be no consequences for Mr. Lyman. You will return to Canada and regain your tourist visa privileges in five years. Otherwise, I will see you both for your interview on the 29th, and if even one answer doesn’t match, then you will face the full weight of the law.”  
With that, the man walked towards the front of the house, Donna showing him out before closing and locking the door. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor, holding her knees and rocking slightly. This was a bad, bad idea.

After a minute she got up, lest Josh and Rachel find her sitting in the foyer like an idiot. She spotted the Hamilton book on the couch and realized she should return it to its proper place. This time, she didn’t scurry out of the office so quickly. She looked around, drinking in all the photographs and memorabilia scattered on the shelves. There was one in particular that warmed her heart – showing Josh, Joanie and their parents along with an older couple Donna identified as Josh’s grandparents. Josh was just a baby – maybe around 1 year old – and he was being cuddled close by his bubbe. 

Donna ran her finger along the side of the frame, when she heard the garage door opening. She immediately dashed out of the room and up the stairs so she had a moment to compose herself.

“DONNA!” Josh shouted after entering the house and Donna shook her head in amusement, thinking about how he probably used the same volume when in his office 10 feet away from her.

She made her way down to the first floor to find Josh standing right at the base of the staircase.

“Hi,” he said, smiling and bouncing nervously.

“Hi…” she repeated back, wondering why he was being so weird. “How’d it go?”

“…how did what go?”

“The antique store? The table?” She reminded him.

“Oh! That, yes. It was good. Mom’s arranging it in the sunroom as we speak.” He was still smiling. “Hey, come here - I have something for you.”

He guided Donna over to the living room couch, hand on the small of her back as always. As they sat down, she asked “What is happening right now?”

Josh took a deep breath. “So, my mom and I were talking in the car about how you really did need a ring. I told her that I just hadn’t been able to find anything special enough for you, and she suggested that maybe the perfect one was already in the family.”

Donna’s memory flashed back to their first night here, where Rachel had made some strange reference to a ring and Josh seemed uncomfortable. “Josh..” she started, already nervous about where this was heading.

But he was already taking a small velvet box out of his pocket. “This ring was my grandmother’s. It survived the Holocaust, and my grandparents always said it was their good luck charm. I want you to have it.”

He opened the box to find the most breathtaking ring Donna had ever seen. She looked into his eyes to find the most adoring look in his face she had ever seen. It overwhelmed her. Josh reached for her hand, but the moment they touched it was like something had shocked Donna. She stood up abruptly and shook her head no. 

“I can’t…I’m sorry Josh I can’t do this. I can’t do this to you.” She ran upstairs to their room and dug through her purse where she had quickly stashed the INS man’s business card from earlier.

Choking back tears, she dialed the number. He answered after a few rings and she said “Hi, Mr. Gilbertson? This is Donna Moss; you came to see me earlier? Would you be able to come back later today? I think there’s some information you should know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was so delayed but it is extra long as a bonus! Some of the details I took from the Proposal movie - including Mr. Gilbertson's name and the penalty for lying. And yes, I snuck in some Hamilton references, sue me ;) Hope you enjoyed! Will probably only be one or two chapters after this.


	6. Chapter 6

Donna was normally a very methodical packer. There were checklists and strategies to ensure nothing got left behind. Not to mention, she had become responsible for making sure Josh packed everything he needed as well – a need that became painfully obvious when he forgot to pack any underwear for a 10-day European summit.

All this to say, the way Donna was now haphazardly throwing everything in sight into her suitcase was extremely uncharacteristic. She felt like she was on autopilot – grabbing everything she recognized as hers, while her head floated somewhere in outer space. During a final glance around the room, she spotted Josh’s old Yale hoodie. He hardly ever wore it, much preferring the faded Wesleyan sweatshirt that used to be his dad’s. 

But Donna loved the Yale one – it was soft and warm, and he always lent it to her when the heat in the West Wing got particularly finnicky. As if on its own accord, her hand grabbed the hoodie and stuffed it in her bag before zipping it up. 

She heard the doorbell ring just as she started rolling the suitcase to the top of the stairs. Quickly grabbing the handle, she ran down the steps and put the suitcase down before answering the door.

Mr. Gilbertson looked simultaneously smug and annoyed, if that were at all possible. “Hello again, Ms. Moss,” he said.

“Hello,” Donna responded in a small voice. “Come in.”

She led them into the living room where Josh and Rachel were sitting, both looking confused and slightly hurt.   
“Donna, sweetheart, what is this all about?” Rachel asked, and suddenly Donna wasn’t sure who she hated hurting the most. Rachel had been so kind to her, she had treated her like a part of the family. But Donna isn’t part of the family, and that’s why she needs to do this. It’s not fair to either of them.

Donna took a deep breath. “Rach-Mrs. Lyman,” she corrected to the other woman’s surprise. It no longer felt right to refer to her so informally. “As you know, I’m from Canada originally. Because of the hectic schedule of the White House, I missed the deadline to apply for citizenship, and my visa has expired as well. Neither of us wanted me to leave, so Josh told everyone we were engaged. Except we’re not.”

“You’re…you’re not…” Rachel stuttered.

“We’re not engaged,” Donna repeats. “It was a lie.” She stares at the floor because she absolutely cannot bear to look at Josh, even inadvertently.

Mr. Gilbertson cleared his throat. “As I told Ms. Moss, the INS prefers these matters be handled before too much damage is done. I told her if she came clean now, there would be no consequences for the two of you and I am a man of my word. I will escort Ms. Moss to the train station and accompany her to D.C. so she can get her affairs in order. In 36 hours, she will be back in Canada and everyone can go on with their lives.”

He fiddled with his coat and walked towards the door. “I’ll give you a moment to say goodbye. Ms. Moss, please meet me in the car.”

Once he was gone, Donna had no choice but to risk a glance at Josh. What she saw nearly broke her in half. She could read at least 10 emotions on his face – guilt, fear, anger, loss, and something resembling devastation. It looked like he was actively leaning away from his mother, trying to put distance between them, and she would hate it if this damaged their relationship.

“Rachel, please, you must know,” Donna pleaded. To hell with formality. “Josh did all of this of this to protect me, because he is such a good person. I know he lied to you and I know he feels awful about that, but don’t let this make you think you haven’t raised him right. You’ve raised…one of the most incredible people I know.”

Despite the fact that she was talking to Rachel, Donna’s eyes had become locked on Josh’s at some point during her little speech. “I’m sure at the beginning this was just one of his crazy plans,” she continued, “finding a creative solution just like he does in the White House every day. But at some point, things changed. It changed when Josh told me about Joanie.” 

At that, Josh swallowed hard, and Donna could sense the lump in his throat. She went on. “It changed when I woke up in the morning to find him next to me. And when he gave me that ring...” Donna glanced at the box, which was still sitting on the end table. “I just can’t lie anymore. It hurts too much.”

Donna grabbed her bag and walked out the door to Mr. Gilbertson’s car, refusing to look back because if she did, she would probably crumble to the floor.

***

About an hour later, Donna was sitting on a train due to pull out of Union Station in a matter of moments. On the way to New Haven, Mr. Gilbertson had talked a bit about what happens next, but Donna hadn’t said a word, just nodding on occasion.

He was sitting next to her now, reading a book and looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. She wanted to rip his face off, quite honestly.

Donna kept messing with a loose thread on her scarf, desperately trying and failing to think about other things. But of course, it’s impossible because she just completely ruined Josh’s life and Rachel’s, not to mention Josh’s professional life now that she can’t be his assistant. And oh God, this is definitely going to get out to the press and that will just be a nightmare.

Yeah, the whole “not thinking about it” thing was going great. With a huff, Donna rooted around in her handbag for the Washington Post she had grabbed on the way to Connecticut and never finished. Maybe she could try to direct her anger at Republicans for a while.

Of course, it wasn’t there, so Donna stood up to grab her bag from the storage rack up above their seats. She opened it up and started to dig through it, when her hand landed on some thick blue material. Donna could tell what it was just by the feel of it, but she pulled it out and turned it around anyway. Josh’s Yale sweatshirt. 

Immediately, the tears that Donna had been trying to banish all day sprung to her eyes. It was an old, ratty, sweatshirt, it shouldn’t make her feel like this and yet…

The truth came to her as simply and easily as her own name – she loves Josh. I mean, she knew she loved him but not, not like this. Not like this was exactly how she wanted to spend Thanksgiving for the rest of her life.

Donna sat down, and stood up again, not sure what to do. Somewhere in the back of her head, she registered the rumbling of the train as it prepared to leave. “I have to go,” she whispered.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Gilbertson asked, looking up from his book.

“I have to go,” she said again, slightly louder. “I can’t…I can’t leave him like this I just can’t.” As she spoke, the train began to move and Donna looked out the window in despair.

“I’m sorry this is difficult Ms. Moss,” Mr. Gilbertson said. “But to be frank, this is what happens when you defy the U.S. government. I’m sure you’ll be able to speak to each other on the phone when you’re back in Canada.”

***

That night, Donna was back in the West Wing, packing up her desk. She just a few minutes to gather her personal items before heading back to her apartment to finish packing. Her flight left first thing in the morning.

“Hey Donna,” Margaret walked up to her with her kind, sad eyes. “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe…I’m sorry you have to go.”

“Thanks, Margaret,” Donna replied. “It was really an honor to work with-” she stopped when she realized Margaret was now looking over Donna’s shoulder. “What?”

“Margaret just nodded her head towards the other side of the room, and Donna turned around. Standing there, looking like an absolute mess, was Josh Lyman with his signature backpack slung across one shoulder.

“Josh?” she asked incredulously.

“Donnatella,” Josh replied, slightly out of breath.

“How are you here?” After Donna’s train, there hadn’t been another for a few hours.

“I may have caught a last-minute flight out of Bradley,” Josh said sheepishly. “I drove so fast…I’m not even sure I stopped for red lights.”

He crossed the bullpen as he spoke, stopping only when he was inches in front of Donna – as always, the concept of personal space didn’t really exist with them.

“Why would you do that?” Donna asked.

“Well, about 30 seconds after you left, my mom smacked me on the head and asked what was wrong with me. I started to explain, and then I realized you had been wrong about something. You said you couldn’t lie anymore but the thing is…it wasn’t a lie. Not for me.” Josh looked deep into Donna’s eyes, who thought she might be having a stroke.

“I loved spending Thanksgiving with you,” Josh continued. “I wanted to give my grandmother’s ring to you, and I think there’s a very good chance I may have been falling in love with you ever since you hired yourself in New Hampshire.”

And then, right there in the middle of the West Wing, Joshua Lyman, Bartlet’s Bulldog, got on one knee.

“Donnatella Moss, please, marry me,” he said. “Because I’d like to date you.”

“Josh,” Donna said, although it was more like a sob. “You don’t want to risk your career for this. This administration needs you and I-”

“I need you,” Josh cut her off, and closed the distance between them to crush their lips together. The kiss was urgent but somehow also tender, all the built-up feelings from the past few years rising to the surface. 

Moments flashed through Donna’s mind like a film reel, all the little moments where they stood a little too close, touched a little too casually, smiled at each other a little too long. Donna was sure she had built it all up in her head, that she just had a silly crush and that Josh definitely did not feel the same. But as he deepened the kiss and grabbed her hips to pull her ever closer, Donna could tell he had burned for her just as much as she had for him.

Finally, Leo, who had started wondering why no one was working and wandered into the bullpen, exclaimed “Well it took you long enough.”

Donna and Josh broke apart with a chuckle, leaning their foreheads together for a moment before actually pulling away from each other to look around. Margaret started clapping and the crowd that had gathered around them quickly joined in. 

Donna scanned the room and saw CJ, grinning in that “I told you, shithead” way an older sister grins. Sam was just beaming, and Toby was doing his very best to look uninterested but Donna could read it all on his face. Ginger and Kathy were sharing a bag of popcorn (where did that even come from?) and Donna spotted Danny peeking around the corner. He winked at her and mimed zipping his lips shut.

Eventually Leo said in an exasperated tone, “Don’t you people have actual jobs to do?” and everyone more or less scattered. Donna heard CJ ask Toby if the president was in the oval, saying something about owing him 10 bucks. 

“C’mere,” Josh whispered, leading her to his office with his hand at the small of her back like always, but maybe just a little bit lower than before.

The second they closed the door Donna shoved him against it, kissing him like her very life depended on it. Josh’s hands descended the last few inches to grab her ass, and Donna’s arms held onto his muscular arms.

Donna was pretty close to forgetting where they were and taking him right there and then, but someone slammed a file cabinet closed outside and it startled her back to reality.  
“Plenty of time for that later,” she teased him as she tried to step away, but his grip tightened to keep her pressed against him.

“You better believe it, sweetheart,” Josh said with his megawatt smile. 

“So,” Donna said, running her hands up and down his arms. “Did I prove myself valuable?”

“For the life of me, I don’t know what I ever did without you,” he said with the upmost sincerity.

“Lucky for you, you’ll never have to find out,” she responded, giving him one last peck before extracting herself from his arms. She opened the other door to his office – which honestly, she probably should have locked when they came in here, but there was no room for logic in her mind at that point.

She started walking towards Leo’s office to figure out how they actually make this work, smiling when she heard Josh run to catch up with her. They were a team, now and always.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! This is actually the first multi chapter fic I've ever finished, so I'm proud of it. I know it was pretty cheesy and unrealistic, but hey that's what rom coms are for. Thank you all so much for your lovely comments, they mean more than you know. Also yes, the airport in Connecticut is actually called Bradley International, which I thought was kind of hilarious.


End file.
